I've found at least one web site that references the practice of providing wire cutters to jaw surgery patients, and it noted only that it "may" be necessary. Hardly a "malpractice lawyer's dream" (and since when did a member of the armed forces have recourse to a civilian personal injury landshark when it comes to claims against military medical personnel? Not when I was in the service anyway).
I have no reason to doubt your word - its just that the doctors and RN I've talked to about this (one a member of my family) said that they had never heard of issuing cutters to a jaw surgery patient. (To be fair, I do not know if they had ever treated patients that had to travel afterward, which could be one of those situations where wire cutters would be a necessary precaution). Additionally, during an interview with an oral and maxillofacial surgeon on a radio talk show I heard on Friday, that physician said that he had never heard of the practice.
Ait travelrs frquently experience motion sickness (see those little bags in the seat pocket?)
Yes, I am quite aware of the presence and purpose of emesis bags on commercial aircraft.
and in that instance, a patient with a wired mandible is in big trouble.
If that patient had eaten solid food recently, then I would agree. However, in the case of a patient who has only ingested liquids, I simply don't see what this "big trouble" might be. Jaw surgery patients have to have enough of a gap present between their teeth to ingest liquids, don't they? And, wouldn't that gap be sufficient to allow expulsion and prevent aspiration of fluid if the patient vomited?
Most of the patients I have attended carried the cutters on a lanyard around the neck.
You are a physician or medical professional then?
Any "screener" should have made a decent inquiry into this issue, caontacted superiors for advice, etc. The "too busy" employee is a cadidate for dismissalin my book.
All that the patient's doctor had to do to avoid all of this was write a note for the patient to show to airport security, EMTs, or civilian hospital ER staff (if he fell ill during the trip). Further, I believe that it is asking a lot of a $7.00 an hour airport screener to know all the intricacies of this situation, unless the patient presented a note of explanation prepared by a physician, which he didn't have in this case. And, for that, I hold the physician much more culpable than I do the screener.
I don't recall if it was stated in the story whether the screener who confiscated the cutters/denied boarding had contacted his or her supervisor or not, so I cannot comment on that.
Yes, I am an RN (working on an MSN) and have been inthe profession for 40 years.
That gap between the teeth? Try breathing through a straw. If the patient vomited, that space would hardly be adequate to expell and emesis.
The $7.00/hour folks aren't the ones to make decisions of that magnitude...supervisors should be called upon...and any nurse or physician at the airport (including numerous EMTs) could be consulted.
Don't forget...this was an American soldier...a wounded one...that alone should have been of some consideration in these decisions and actions.
I bet they have never heard of inserting a foley catheter (the one for urine) into each nostril either---but quite common on a floor that deals with nosebleeds. Trust me, standard bedside procedure requires access to wirecutters and they are sent home with the patient, if his jaw is still wired shut.
Visualize getting sick & the vomit having nowhere to go but back down the throat while you are retching to get the stuff out of your mouth into the toilet. It could kill you.